ATHENS.- After going three games without winning, the real Madrid has been left without network and on Wednesday he visits the Olympiacos with the obligation to add a victory to defuse a crisis that threatens the white team.
To the difficulty of visiting a country in which Real Madrid has never won in its nine previous visits (three draws and six defeats), one more was added this Tuesday: the Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois He will miss the match due to gastroenteritis, as announced by the club.
After winning just a month ago Barcelona in the first Clásico of the season (2-1), the team led by Xabi Alonso seemed to be going smoothly: outstanding leader of LaLiga and undefeated in Europe.
But a defeat in Liverpool on the last day of Champions and two consecutive draws in the Spanish championship (against the modest Rayo Vallecano and Elche) has set off all the alarms in the Spanish capital.
To Greek hell without Courtois
“The team has not fallen, but the result and the game can be improved,” admitted Alonso after the draw against Elche on Sunday.
The truth is that the green shoots that were seen in the Club World Cupshortly after the coach took over the white bench, seem to have withered.
There is no trace of the pressure exerted on the rival in the first games, players like Dean Huijsen, Álvaro Carreras or Arda Güler have gone from strength to strength, Vinicius and Rodrigo are still “missing”, Jude Bellingham’s performance is like a roller coaster and one of the big signings, the Englishman Trent Alexander-Arnold, has played little due to injuries and when he has he has been portrayed, as happened on Sunday.
“The best version of Madrid has disappeared after the Clásico. The lack of connection between the footballers and the coaching staff, the dynamics and the gestures seen in the matches are worrying,” summarized the director of the newspaper AS, José Félix Díaz, after the match against Elche.
The white team had cemented the good results in the first part of the season thanks to the goals of Kylian Mbappé and the saves of Courtois, but in Greece He won’t have the Belgian. The Ukrainian Andriy Lunin will play in his place.
Under normal circumstances, Real Madrid’s visit to Olympiacos should not pose a great difficulty for the 15-time European Cup winner, but the current moment may end up betraying the whites.
Vinicius on target
Several Spanish media have agreed to report in recent days that tension is growing between coach Xabi Alonso and some of his stars, such as Vinicius, who already had a confrontation with his coach after being replaced in the Classic.
The Brazilian striker has lost his undisputed status and in 17 games this season, in four he did not start and in only five did he play the full match.
This is added to the fact that he has not scored in any of the last five LaLiga games (the last goal was scored on October 4) and that he has not yet made his debut in Europe this season.
His numbers, 5 goals and 4 assists, are dwarfed when compared to those of his leading teammate, Mbappé, who already has 18 goals and three assists in 17 games played in all competitions.
Coinciding this Tuesday with Alonso’s 44th birthday, the best gift that the players can give to their coach is a victory that would bring peace of mind to all levels of the club, because if he returns empty-handed from Athens, the former Leverkusen player could choke on the cake.
